
Brain Drain Fuels Louisiana’s High Student Loan Debt Problem
Louisiana has historically struggled with education, constantly being named one of the states with the worst education and the lowest share of college graduates. However, a new study has revealed something interesting about the size of Louisiana's student debt burden.
Louisiana Has The 2nd Least College Graduates in America
According to the United States Census for 2021, only 33.2% of Louisiana residents had achieved an associate degree or higher, tied with Arkansas for having the fewest college graduates in the state.
Despite Few Graduates Louisiana Has Higher Average Student Loan Debt
Even though Louisiana has one of the lowest shares of college graduates, the state is in the half of states with the most student loan debt. A study from the personal finance website WalletHub has ranked which states are best when it comes to student loan debt, by looking at many things like how much debt there is, and how many internship programs, grants, and student jobs are available.
Louisiana had the 19th most student loan debt of all 50 states. Even though Louisiana has fewer college graduates than the next 47 states, the state manages to have more student debt than 31 other states.
Brain Drain May Be To Blame
Brain Drain is the phrase used to describe the loss of educated workers in a state, typically when college graduates move away after getting a degree. Louisiana has been hit hard with brain drain, losing 62% of graduates in 2023. Those taking their college degrees out of state leave the statistic of average student loan debt to a bigger number since those who did not complete their degree are now burdened with debt but no degree.
